All posts tagged ‘Final Mission’

Star Trek fans all have their favorite episodes. Some times, they will list their favorite episodes by series. Other times, they list them in context of the entire franchise.

Picking favorite episodes can be very difficult. There are so many, the majority of which tackle some very important and controversial issues. Others are just plain old fun. In honor of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s 25th anniversary, here is my list of top five favorite episodes from Star Trek: The Next Generation and why. The episode ranked second, third, and fourth, could easily be interchangeable.

Number five:Final Mission
Episode no.: Season 4 Episode 9
Original air date: December 2, 1990

In this episode, Wesley Crusher is preparing to leave for Starfleet Academy. Before he leaves, Captain Picard asks Wesley to accompany him on one final mission. The mining shuttle goes down on a desert planet, along with Captain Dirgo, the mining shuttle’s captain. Captain Picard becomes gravely injured. The arrogant Captain Dirgo dies, leaving Wesley to save Captain Picard’s life, while the Enterprise is busy dealing with a different crisis.

This episode may not be the meatiest episode. But it is one of my favorite episodes because it nicely illustrates how the relationship between Captain Picard and Wesley has grown. What seemed to be not too long ago, Captain Picard would refer to Wesley as, “the boy.” Captain Picard was not good with children, and at times, there was extra tension between Captain Picard and Wesley. I like to say this is because Captain Picard is Wesley’s father, and he doesn’t quite know how to deal with that secret. And we must not forget the time that Captain Picard said, “Shut up, Wesley!”